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Belfort gets Henderson for next fight

Vitor Belfort will fight on November 9 © Getty Images

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UFC and Vitor Belfort have agreed on the middleweight contender's next opponent - former light heavyweight contender Dan Henderson.

Belfort will face Henderson at an unannounced UFC event on November 9 in Brazil. News of the potential bout was first mentioned on "UFC Tonight" on Tuesday.

UFC president Dana White has since confirmed the contest to ESPN.com, although he did not specify what weight class it would take place in.

Belfort is the No. 3-ranked middleweight in the world, according to ESPN.com, and has been clamoring for a shot at the 185-pound title following knockout wins against Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold this year.

The Brazilian has built a four-fight win streak in the division, dating to 2011. He fought at 205 pounds for the light-heavyweight title against Jon Jones in September, losing via fourth-round submission.

Despite Belfort's impressive run, the middleweight title is currently out of his grasp due to a much-anticipated rematch between newly crowned champion Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva at UFC 168 in December.

Henderson was supposed to fight Jones for the light-heavyweight belt last year but withdrew with a knee injury and since has dropped two fights.

Both contests were tightly contested three-round affairs. He dropped a split decision to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 in February and another split decision to Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 161 in June.

The fight is a rematch of a bout that took place in October 2006, under Pride Fighting Championships. Henderson defeated Belfort in that light-heavyweight meeting.

This article first appeared on ESPN.com

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